The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made some big arrests. One of the people arrested is a 50-year-old businessman named Francis Akajiobi. He lives in Spain. NDLEA officers caught him at the departure hall of Terminal 2 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja Lagos.
Francis was trying to board a flight to Madrid, Spain when officers found cocaine hidden in his sandals. The total weight of the cocaine was 1.20 kilograms. This happened on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
How did they find out?
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, announced the arrest on Sunday. Femi said Francis said he got the drugs from a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Francis was supposed to deliver the drugs to a friend in Spain and would get paid 5,000 euros for it.
Another person arrested is Makinde Sodiq Lekan. He was caught with 99 parcels of a type of cannabis from Canada. It weighed 51.60 kilograms. This happened at the Lagos airport.
NDLEA officers are also working to catch big drug smugglers who bring drugs into Nigeria through other countries. They arrested a man named Chukwuemaka Obodozie. He was caught with 100,000 tablets of tramadol, a strong painkiller. Officers caught him at Cele bus stop in Lagos.
NDLEA officers also raided the Owena forest in Osun State. They destroyed 31,250 kilograms of cannabis plants. During this raid, they arrested 17 people and found a gun.
Here are some of the people arrested during the raid: Peter Osuya (51), Zebron Ode (46), Dogo Reuben Matthew (35), Isaac Terna, Joseph David Lawrence (27), Ugochukwu Victory (24), Olamilekan Abolarin (26), Dele Ayibo (44), Ojo Moses (21), Nini Ayila (27), Msughve Clement (23), Chuks Ogeneku (40), Dada Aribo (20), Uche Endurance (30), Patrick Agba (21), Osakwe Kennedy (45), and Ojo Babatunde (29).
In Kaduna, NDLEA officers stopped a 32-year-old lady named Ubaida Aliyu. She had 573 bullets with her. Ubaida said she was taking them to bandits in Sokoto.
Another suspect, Godwin Udochukwu (35), was caught with 25,000 ampoules of Pentazocine injection. Alkasim Mikailu (35) was arrested with 37,880 ampoules of Diazepam injection. Both were caught in different operations in Kaduna and Kano.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Abioye Adeniyi (39) and Rafiu Lekan (41) with 55 wraps of Ghana Loud, another type of cannabis. They were caught on the Badagry-Seme road. Another man, Samson Ifeayi Egwutouhi (30), was arrested with 20 blocks of cannabis on the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Expressway. In Bauchi, Suleiman Yahaya (50) and Ibrahim Bello (35) were arrested with 315 blocks of cannabis.
The Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, is very happy with these arrests. He praised the officers for working so hard and told them to keep up the good work.
